SOCIOLOGY 5221: ETHNOGRAPHIC ANALISIS
Fall, 2004
Kathleen Tierney Office Hours:
Natural Hazards Center Thursday 10-12, Ketchum 207A
1243 Grandview Ave., IBS #6 and by appointment at IBS #6
Phone: (303) 492-6818
Cell: (302) 981-0259
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to provide an introduction to qualitative data collection and analysis techniques and to writing up the results of qualitative research. Special emphasis will be placed on the diversity and distinctive strengths of qualitative analytic techniques. Several approaches to the analysis and presentation of qualitative data will be covered, including grounded theory techniques, narrative analysis, critical ethnographic analysis, and other analytic strategies. One key objective in all activities this semester is to help you integrate what you do in this course with your ongoing work--a thesis, dissertation, conference paper, journal article, or related project.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: For this course, you will undertake a semester-long project involving the analysis of qualitative data. The project can involve data collected through ethnographic field work, semi-structured interview data, or textual/documentary material.
A short (one-page) written proposal on what you intend to do for the course--and how you plan to do it--is due in class on September 16. You will be making a presentation in class at the end of the semester, approximately 20 minutes in length, discussing progress you have made with your analysis/writing project and presenting findings. You must provide other members of the class a copy of your paper draft by the morning of the Tuesday prior to your presentation. Following your presentation, you will revise your paper and again distribute it to members of the class. By the end of the course, you are expected to have completed a draft manuscript of conference or journal length that incorporates the results of your qualitative analysis activities.
During the semester, you will also be asked to work on short assignments involving interview guide development, qualitative coding, and writing up qualitative research. These assignments are required, but will not be graded.
You are expected to complete all reading assignments (book excerpts and electronic reserve readings) by the scheduled meeting date and to be prepared to draw upon readings for class discussions.
Classes will employ a lecture/discussion format. I will present material on each week’s topic. That presentation will be followed by discussions centering on assigned readings and on issues students are encountering with their projects.
Class attendance, readings, exercises and participation in weekly class discussions are all required for the course. The grade for the course will be based on (1) the quality of the final paper produced, demonstrating that you have developed qualitative data analysis and interpretation skills; and (2) the quality of your participation in class.
REQUIRED BOOKS AND OTHER READINGS:
Auerbach, Carl F. and Louise B. Silverstein. 2003. Qualitative Data: An Introduction to Coding and Analysis. New York: New York University Press.
Berg, Bruce. 2004. Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. (Fifth Edition) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Emerson, Robert M. (Ed.) 2001. Contemporary Field Research: Perspectives and Formulations. (Second Edition) Prospect Heights, Ill: Waveland Press.
Lofland, John and Lyn Lofland. 1995. Analyzing Social Settings: A Guide to Qualitative Observation and Analysis. (Third Edition) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Reissman, Catherine Kohler. 1993. Narrative Analysis. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Strauss, Anselm and Juliet Corbin. 1998. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. (Second Edition) Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Thomas, Jim. 1993. Doing Critical Ethnography. Newbury Park , CA: Sage Publications.
Twenty additional readings (see reading assignments below) will be available through Norlin Library Electronic Reserves.
COURSE OUTLINE:
PART 1: GETTING STARTED AND REVIEWING MAIN DATA COLLECTION METHODS
Week of August 23
Course Introduction. Discussion of course structure, requirements, and assignments. Discussion of student goals for the course and data that students plan to use.
Readings: Berg, Chapter 1; Agger, "Critical Theory, Poststructuralism, Postmodernism: Their Sociological Relevance;" Auerbach and Silverstein, Chs 1, 2, and 3.
Week of August 30:
Qualitative methods in sociology; epistemological and theoretical foundations; Methods of data collection I: Ethnographic research
Readings: Adler and Adler, “The Ethnographer’s Ball—Revisited;” Atkinson, Coffey, and Delamont, “Ethnography: Post, Past, and Present;” Lofland and Lofland, Pp. 1-98.
Suggested discussion questions for this week: What are the distinctive strengths of ethnographic and qualitative methods? What are the goals of qualitative analysis? What different ethnographic styles or traditions can you identify?
Week of September 6:
Ethnographic Research (cont’d)
Readings: Emerson, Pp. vii-53; Emerson, Pp. 113-151; Emerson, Pp. 159-166; Emerson, Pp. 203-223; Pp. 239-259; Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw, “Fieldnotes in Ethnographic Research;” Berg. Chapter 6
Suggested discussion question for this week: What impacts has “the reflexive turn” (Emerson) had on the way we understand and interpret qualitative data?
Week of September 13:
Methods of Data Collection II: Interviewing: In-depth and focus group interviews
Readings: Rubin and Rubin, “Keeping on Target While Hanging Loose: Designing Qualitative Interviews;” Warren, “Qualitative Interviewing;” Holstein and Gubrium, “Active Interviewing;” Berg, Chapters 4 and 5
Suggested discussion questions for this week: How do qualitative and survey interviews differ? What different assumptions underlie standardized and qualitative interviewing?
One-page description of your proposed project/paper topic is due in class September 16.
Week of September 20:
Draft interview guides to be exchanged by e-mail by Tuesday, September 21
Interviewing; Review and critique of interview guides; texts and documents as qualitative data
Readings: Silverman, “Analysing Documentary Realities;” Ten Have, “Natural Documents”
Suggested discussion question for this week: What are the strengths of documentary materials and records? What are their limitations? What types of documents might be of most use to social scientists studying specific types of problems?
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Week of September 27:
No class this week; Class will be made up on Tuesday, November 23—the Tuesday before Thanksgiving
Week of October 4:
Issues in ethnographic and qualitative research: Ethics and human subjects; assessing the validity of qualitative findings
Readings: Johnson and Altheide, “Reflections on Professional Ethics;” Emerson, 260-279; Berg, Chapter 3; Kvale, “The Social Construction of Validity;” Altheide and Johnson, "Criteria for Assessing Interpretive Validity in Qualitative Research;" Hammersley, “Ethnography and the Disputes Over Validity;” Emerson, Pp. 383-395; Auerbach and Silverstein, Chapter 8.
Suggested discussion questions for this week: Is covert ethnographic research ethical? Take a stand: Why or why not? If two researchers study the same setting and come up with widely varying findings, can both sets of findings be valid? What criteria should be used to assess the validity of qualitative research findings? Are validity criteria shared within the research community, or are they disputed?
PART 2: CODING AND ANALYZING QUALITATIVE DATA
Week of October 11:
Organizing and analyzing qualitative data: Grounded Theory Approaches and Related Analytic Methods.
Readings: Emerson, Pp. 331-352; Strauss and Corbin, entire book.
Suggested discussion question for this week: When doing qualitative analysis, lots of people say they are using grounded theory. Are they? Is grounded theory the same as qualitative analysis? What exactly is grounded theory?
Week of October 18:
More on coding. Presentation of results of coding exercise
Readings: Lofland and Lofland, Pp. 101-148; 181-203; Auerbach and Silverstein, Chs. 4, 5, 6, and 7. Berg, Chapter 11.
Week of October 25:
Organizing and analyzing qualitative data: Narrative Analysis
Mischler, “Models of Narrative Analysis: A Typology;” Richardson: “Narrative and Sociology;” Reissman, entire book
Suggested discussion question for this week: Are narratives more than “stories”? What’s the difference between a qualitatively-based narrative and, say, a story that a journalist would write? What distinguishes narrative analysis from fiction? From journalism?
Week of November 1:
Organizing and analyzing qualitative data: Insights from feminism, postmodernism, and related perspectives
Readings: Naples, “Standpoint Analysis and Reflective Practice;” Goodall, “Voice, Reflexivity, and Character: The Construction of Identities in Text;” De Vault, “Talking and Listening from Women’s Standpoint: Feminist Strategies for Interviewing and Analysis”
Suggested discussion question for this week: How have postmodernism and poststructuralism changed the way we think about research? About data? What implications do these perspectives have for data collection, analysis, and writing?
This week, review past issues of the American Sociological Review, the Journal of Contemporary Sociology, and Qualitative Sociology and find what you consider an outstanding example of qualitative analysis and writing. We will “deconstruct” these articles in class during the week of November 15.
PART 3: WRITING UP QUALITATIVE DATA
Week of November 8:
Writing up qualitative data: The interplay between data and theory; description, analysis, and interpretation; structuring papers and articles
Wolcott, “Getting Going;” Marvasti, “Writing;” Lofland and Lofland, Pp. 204-236; Berg, Chapter 12; Emerson, 281-316.
Suggested discussion question for this week: What are the biggest challenges associated with writing up qualitative findings? How can we meet these challenges?
Week of November 15:
Developing publishable manuscripts: How do authors do it? Discussions of qualitative papers, publications; different ways of presenting qualitative findings
Readings: Holliday, “Writing About Data”
Suggested discussion question for this week: What skills do authors use in presenting qualitative findings? Can you see differences between ASR articles and those appearing in qualitative journals?
Week of November 22 and 29:
Send papers by e-mail by Tuesday morning before your presentation
Student presentations, critique, and discussion
Week of December 6:
Send revised papers by e-mail by morning of Tuesday, December 7
Review and discussion of revised drafts
Final papers due by 5 pm on Monday, December 13